Epilogue
Two and a half years later
Arsen
“I still can't believe you're real sometimes?” I picked up my two year old daughter, Aleesa, and held her out at arms length, looking her over. It's been about three years since I came back to be Val's bodyguard and knowing that we made this little monster together still blew my fucking mind.
Sometimes I had to just look at her, to convince myself that she was real. Aleesa had my black hair and big nose-unfortunately-, but she had her mother's piercing blue eyes and beautiful face. I couldn't help, but smile whenever I saw her cause a little trouble. It drove Val nuts... Which made me smile more.
“Oh thank, God! She certainly takes after you running off halfcocked like that. Aleesa nearly gave me a heart attack!” My mother rounded the backstage corner, she placed a hand over her chest in relief.
“She's just keeping you on your toes, grandma.” I smiled as my mother eyed me. She was still as graceful as she'd always been, but with Hugh now in prison, some of that fire had returned to her eyes. They were as pretty as I’d remembered.
“Mommy,” Aleesa excitedly exclaimed, seeing Val on the stage behind me. I pulled her close and made all the right noises to quiet her during Val's rehearsal. Val was almost done for the day so I figured we'd all surprise her for dinner.
“Are you sure we can be here?” Mom side stepped some of the bustling human traffic. “I'd hate to get kicked out of a Broadway show.”
“I'd love to see them try.” Val was their show's leading lady, they weren't going to kick her family out of a rehearsal. Now that we had Aleesa it was impossible to go to all of Val's rehearsals, but I still never missed one of her actual shows.
I turned and watched Val flit around the stage, hitting her marks and delivering her lines with crisp perfection. It was hard not to fall in love with her every time I watched her perform, she just radiated talent and passion. She seemed so much happier now that she done with film. Stage acting had always been her real passion anyway, Hugh just forced her to do otherwise.
Val had overcome a lot to get to where she was now- headlining the hottest new Broadway play. Between the viral video of Val kissing her stepbrother in an illegal fight and the news of Hugh's arrest and eventual conviction, the media wasn't too kind to the Dawson legacy.
The crazy thing was how fast it all went away. For two whole months, Val was crucified in every major outlet, then it all disappeared. The news moved on to the next scandal, then the one after that. Weirdly, Val began getting this cult following that loved her new bad girl image.
In the end it actually helped solidify Val as the 'Broadway Bad Girl'. She wasn't cinema's young adult sweetheart anymore. Her hair was no longer dyed, but the side of her head was shaved for her current roll as a villain.
Her fan base changed completely, but the new edge in her image allowed her to audition for all the roles she always wanted to play. I guess it was true that there was no such thing as bad publicity.
“Down!” Aleesa declared, wriggling impatiently. Even at two years old, the little monster had me wrapped around her finger. Despite being undefeated in illegal fighting rings, Val was the one to lay down the law for Aleesa.
I'd save my menacing scowls for the boys Aleesa brought home when she was older.
“Arsen, grab her!” My mom reached out toward Aleesa and shouted. Aleesa ducked between my legs, then beelined out on stage to her mother.
Valentine
“Mommy!” The most adorable voice in the world caught me by surprise. I pivoted and saw my beautiful daughter barreling straight for me.
Aleesa tripped over her own feet and flopped onto her stomach, like a sack of potatoes. She had inherited my grace, that's for sure. Aleesa was already crying when I scooped her up. She calmed down when she realized she wasn't hurt.
“You ok, Monster?” I asked Aleesa. She didn't answer, she just squished me as hard as she could. I never thought I could love anything as much as I loved Arsen, but I was wrong. He still came in at a very close second.
I told the rest of the cast that it was a wrap, I'd kept them all there too long as it was. I looked past Aleesa to Pamela, who mouthed that she was so sorry. Arsen wore an amused smirk and just casually shrugged. I shook my head at him, but was secretly glad that somethings never changed.
I barely thought about my father anymore. His career and legacy were both destroyed by the spectacle of his sentencing. In the end, Arsen was right. Giving up the Dawson name lifted a massive weight from my shoulders. I carved my own path now. I'd always be thankful to Arsen for that.
I looked down at the tattoo that ringed my finger. Traditional wedding bands couldn't ever be worn on stage, so it made sense to get something that could always be covered with makeup, but never taken off. It might be hidden, but it was always there, like the tattoo of my pendant on Arsen's chest.
I loved the idea that the symbol of our love could never be lost or stolen.
So many other things had changed in the past few years with me and my career, but surprisingly it was Arsen that changed the most. He lost that constant edge of anger and seemed more at peace than ever before. He stopped the underground fighting right away, and now coached up and coming MMA fighters in a small gym in Manhattan. He was a surprisingly patient teacher!
Aleesa was exhausted, by the time I made it back stage, she was almost asleep.
“You want me to take her?” Arsen asked, holding his hands out.
“I got her.” I turned my back jokingly, then kissed my husband. He wrapped an arm around me and we watched Aleesa doze off.
“Who needs an Oscar, when you have an Aleesa?” Arsen whispered in my ear.
It was a corny joke, but he was right. All the crazy events that tore us apart, then brought us back together, culminated in this one toddler. Aleesa was living breathing proof of what unrelenting love could accomplish.
Who needs an Oscar anyway?
END